Earthmate PN-30 or 40

[Steveinmedford]

I'm considering purchasing one of these units. Earthmate PN-30 or PN-40.

 

One reviewer said you coudn't load more than one geocache at a time. That you couldn't travel from cache to cache.

 

Is that true?

 

I'm considering either of these for ease of use/viewing in daylight. Geocahing and backpacking.

 

Others I should consider?

 

Currently have an older Etrex Legend.

 

Thanks for replies.

[+Bosn Ski]

I'm considering purchasing one of these units. Earthmate PN-30 or PN-40.

 

One reviewer said you coudn't load more than one geocache at a time. That you couldn't travel from cache to cache.

 

Is that true?

 

I'm considering either of these for ease of use/viewing in daylight. Geocahing and backpacking.

 

Others I should consider?

 

Currently have an older Etrex Legend.

 

Thanks for replies.

 

The PN-40 can hold 1000 waypoints. I have a PN-40 and regularly load ~850 caches with ~51 child waypoints with GSAK. By leaving extra room, I have the option to load a cache directly from GC.com and/or make a waypoint in the field e.g. Parking, stages of mulit's etc.

 

The PN-40 is a great unit and I am satisfied with it.

 

Ski

[+Pax42]

Not sure that reviewer had a clue as to what they were doing. Yes you can load multiple caches on to the 30 and 40 using the topo software that comes with the unit, GSAK, or the $10 cache register widget you can purchase as a download from delorme. You will want to become a premium member to take advantage of the pocket query feature to get multiple cache listings in one shot. You can navigate from cache to cache via road routing or hiking mode. The only difference between the 2 units is that the 30 does not have the electronic compass or barometric altimeter features but if you watch for deals on Amazon or Walmart, the price difference is so small sometimes that you might as well go with the 40.

[ao318]

You can download many caches at a time as the others have stated. The one thing you can't do, as far as I am aware on the unit, is actually project a waypoint. So, for example, if you are doing a multi or puzzle in the field and it asks you to project a waypoint 350' at a bearing of 182, you can't just enter those numbers into the GPSr and it gives you the waypoints like my handheld garmns. You are going to have to move the arrow on the map screen in the direction you want for the listed bearing and feet. It is not quite as easy but can be done. Maybe that's what the reviewer was referring to.

Edited March 28, 2010 by ao318

[hoyshnin]

From what I understand, you can see 1000 geocaches AT A TIME, meaning that you can load a nearly unlimited number of pocket queries onto the PNs and then switch from pocket query to pocket query as you go. This came out with the 2.7 firmware I believe.

[+TotemLake]

With FW 2.7 you have the capability of saving multiple GPX files of caches to the SD card which can then be loaded to the PN. Depending upon your tool of choice (Topo 8, GSAK, or Cache Register) the cache symbols will transfer.

 

The GPS plug-in with Groundspeak will allow one cache download at a time from the cache page.

 

I don't use it, but I know the PN asks if I want to go to the next cache when I have routing enabled and I make the routed to cache logged as a Found It.

[+jeffbouldin]

I have a PN-30 upgraded to 2.7. I use GSAK to load it.

 

In GSAK there is a drop down menu called GPS. I set it to the Delorme PN-30. Then I opened up the Send Waypoints box. At the top I click on Change Symbols, then choose Combine Both and go through the list and make sure that the symbols were what I wanted showing for the cache type. I believe that the main thing was changing the found caches to show Geocache found smiley. Save that and then set the parameters for how you want the file sent to your GPSr. I set mine to send 990 caches (gives me room to send a new cache to the unit for a FTF attempt), put the hint at the end, and send 10 logs. Now choose the button save and put a name to these settings, that way you don't have to go through all of that every time.

 

Now all I have to do is plug in my GPSr and turn it on, Choose a cache at the center of my area I want covered, (I have 14,000 in my database), choose Send Waypoints from the GPS menu, choose the PN-30 settings (that is what I named my settings), and click send. I now have 990 caches with all of the info on my unit.

 

Since I have the 2.7 firmware I can go into the menu of my PN-30 and choose Waypoints. After they load I can go back into the menu, choose File then Save As, Name the file and save it. I can then hook back up to the computer and send another 990 caches and save them to a file on my GPSr. I can repeat this until all of my caches are on the GPSr or I fill up the SD card.

 

Now out in the field I can go back in the GPSr menu, choose Waypoints, go back in the menu choose file, then Open, then the file I want opened and then it loads those 990 caches.

 

Delorme has said that when 2.8 firmware comes out it will make this process easier. I believe they are trying to get it to take the GC.com GPX files directly.

[+Woodstramp]

...The one thing you can't do, as far as I am aware on the unit, is actually project a waypoint. So, for example, if you are doing a multi or puzzle in the field and it asks you to project a waypoint 350' at a bearing of 182, you can't just enter those numbers into the GPSr and it gives you the waypoints like my handheld garmns....

 

I'm not familiar with Garmin handhelds, so I can't comment on thier Projection feature. I do know you can project a WP with a Delorme PN-20 (and would assume it can be done with a -30/-40) and do it all the time. I took your figure "a waypoint 350' at a bearing of 182" and set a WP at 150.66' @182 degrees by using a combination of the zoom buttons and the "measure distance" function on the map screen. That works up to 527' when the distance readout converts to .1 mile.

[ao318]

...The one thing you can't do, as far as I am aware on the unit, is actually project a waypoint. So, for example, if you are doing a multi or puzzle in the field and it asks you to project a waypoint 350' at a bearing of 182, you can't just enter those numbers into the GPSr and it gives you the waypoints like my handheld garmns....

 

I'm not familiar with Garmin handhelds, so I can't comment on thier Projection feature. I do know you can project a WP with a Delorme PN-20 (and would assume it can be done with a -30/-40) and do it all the time. I took your figure "a waypoint 350' at a bearing of 182" and set a WP at 150.66' @182 degrees by using a combination of the zoom buttons and the "measure distance" function on the map screen. That works up to 527' when the distance readout converts to .1 mile.

 

Isn't that what I said in my my initial post?

 

...... You are going to have to move the arrow on the map screen in the direction you want for the listed bearing and feet. It is not quite as easy but can be done. Maybe that's what the reviewer was referring to.

 

On a garmin, it's pretty easy. All you do on the waypoint page of the coordinates you have chosen is to: push the menu button>choose project waypoint>enter the bearing and then enter the distance in either miles, feet, yards, km, m, or nm> select goto and it creates that new waypoint for you. Pretty simple with no guess work and no limit unless you are asking for a distance greater than 9999.99 of any of the chosen distances.

 

Edited to add bold

Edited March 28, 2010 by ao318

[+Woodstramp]

 

Isn't that what I said in my my initial post?

 

 

Blink smiley is apropriate......Sorry, Evelyn Woods speed reading course and wrong reading glasses let me down on that reply.